NASSAU, Bahamas — The Bahamian government now believes 1,300 people are missing after Hurricane Dorian plowed into the islands, a sharp decline from the 2,500 listed on its registry a day earlier, a government spokesman said on Thursday.

“The number of people registered missing with the Bahamas government is going down daily,” said Carl Smith, a spokesman for the Bahamian National Emergency Management Agency.

The count is falling as the government cross-references the names of people reported missing with those who have sought shelter or been evacuated from the islands.

On Wednesday, when the Bahamas National Emergency Management Agency released its first list, government officials cautioned that they had yet to begin cross-referencing.

The official death count stands at 50, but Bahamian Prime Minister Hubert Minnis said on Wednesday that he expected that number to significantly increase.

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